uieat Women in the Bible Lesson 18

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Countless young Christian girls
and women have been blessed
by Dorcas Classes, in which
they learn how to serve the
Lord, and especially how to be
zealous for good works and acts
of charity. Our ancient sister
after whom these classes are
named certainly had no idea her
works would have so far
reaching an impact.

In Hebrew, her name was
Tabitha, which means Gazelle,
and like a Gazelle her good
works have leaped graciously
off the page of Scripture into the

"Full of uoou Woiks"
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1. Boes it seem the piactical thing to caiiy a
ueau bouy into an "uppei ioom".
2. Bow uo you unueistanu the Bible when it
teaches us to be zealous foi goou woiks.
S. What uoes it mean to be "full" of goou woiks
anu chaiity.
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4. Biu Tabitha piactice puie anu unuefileu
ieligion.
S. Was Tabitha a uisciple of }esus. If so, what
uoes this mean.
6. Bave you thought about how you wish to be
iemembeieu. What aie you uoing about it.
Questions foi Biscussion
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Sewing in the ancient woilu was uone by
hanu, anu was a time-consuming, laboi-
intensive piocess. It was mostly
consiueieu "woman's woik," anu this
iemaineu so until iecent times.
0ntil the Inuustiial Revolution, clothing
was an expensive investment foi most
people, which meant most people hau
few gaiments that they attempteu to
maintain foi as long as possible.
Especially befoie the Inuustiial
Revolution, the cost of puichasing anu
maintaining clothing was especially haiu
on the pooi. The pooiest coulu liteially
be left nakeu oi piactically so when theii
sole set of clothes woie out.
The wiuows Tabitha-Boicas helpeu
woulu have likely been pooi oi veiy pooi.
While ieceiving hanu-sewn woik as a gift
touay is a tieasuieu novelty, what she uiu
foi them was both life anu uignity saving.
Tabitha - Boicas
We know }ohn 4 teaches theie aie no
places on eaith holiei than otheis, but
seveial instances in Sciiptuie, especially
}esus' use of the uppei ioom, seem to
ieveal a tiauition of symbolic meaning in
the minus of Fiist Centuiy believeis.

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hearts of all we who have been touched by her brief, but beautiful
story. We who believe do not all have the same gifts and abilities,
but all our abilities are from God and are powerful for affecting this
world for good and advancing the cause of the kingdom. Paul
wrote, The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are
indispensable (1Corinthians 12:22). The works of the sister about
whom we know so little, but for whose loss all the widows wept, is
the epitome of this truth.

May we all take a lesson from Tabitha, or Dorcas as she was called
in Greek, and live lives full of good works and acts of charity.
There is probably nothing more powerful in this world for good.